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The One Week War
Stage Zero: Argentavius' Ultimatum On January 17, 6,886 A.F, Lord Argentavius Bloodheart, Lord of House Bloodheart and Knight-Commander of the Golden Sapphire, issued an ultimatum for Avitus Solaminus' body, to be presented for all whom dwell on Newsun Isle to see. Lord Lor'tharian Bloodsworn, an old comrade of Solaminus, denied his demands. As rebuttal, Bloodheart sent the following message: “''Should you fail to deliver the body of the last surviving member of House Solaminus, it will be declared an act of war against the Bloodheart Dynasty. It is in your best interest not to stand in the way of our will—we would rather no blood be spilled over the closure of a feud between our families.'' “''Lord Argentavius Bloodheart,'' Head of the Bloodheart Dynasty” The rider returned, beheaded, carrying the response: “''Declare it war—if you desire the body of my comrade, you will have to come and take it.”'' Stage One: The Battle of Eversong On the dawn on January 19, Bloodsworn's Sunfury and Bloodheart's Golden Sapphire met on the battlefield, six thousand seventy-nine against five thousand eighty-six, respectively. Lord Bloodheart and Lord Bloodsworn rode out to meet one another, the former beseeching Bloodsworn to hand over the body, Bloodsworn disagreeing and demanding this battle to commence forthwith. The Golden Sapphire were comprised of mercenaries and wash-outs of the Thalassian Military, but for their lack of proper training, they made up for it in determination. Against the Sunfury, a highly-trained regiment of soldiers, it seemed they had the upper hand in every way. At 5:32 A.M. that morning, the two forces collided, beginning the One-Week War. Bloodsworn sent six centuries to meet with Bloodheart's seven, observing their tactics. The Golden Sapphire fought as a guerilla force, abandoning order for versatility—making it easier to separate them and have them surrounded. To force them together, Bloodsworn sent two groups of heavy cavalry to corral Bloodheart's men, surrounding the mercenaries. Bloodheart countered this by sending two-thousand men to surround Bloodsworn's soldiers, only to be counteracted by a thousand Sunfury, who were ordered to wait for the signal—which was given once his men had become surrounded. If done successfully, Bloodheart would lose all of his men, with Bloodsworn losing few—the Golden Sapphire would be battling Sunfury from the front and the back. However, seeing this move, Bloodheart recalled his men, retreating into the Ghostlands. The men who were unable to flee the battlefield with their leader were captured and slain, all but a Sergeant and a Captain. Stage Two: The Interrogation of the Golden Sapphire The Sergeant and Captain whom were captured were transported with the Sunfury to the Dawnhammer Estate, believed to be long abandoned by it's House that occupied it. Bloodsworn entered the Estate, finding Telandrion Dawnhammer standing motionless within the estate. Coming to an agreement, Bloodsworn was given access to the Estate to interrogate his prisoners freely. However, the prisoners would not speak, even after cutting off a few finger joints and other means of interrogation. Dawnhammer, hearing the interrogation, offered to step in and aid Bloodsworn, and the Triumvir agreed. When one of the prisoners spoke, it was not the Captain, but the Sergeant. He clued Bloodsworn and his men in to the village Bloodheart was using as a FOB: Goldenmist Village. Bloodsworn thanked Dawnhammer, and offered him a place within his unit—Dawnhammer only stated he awaited orders from a D'lanastion, and he wouldn't move until then. Bloodsworn told him that he served the D'lanastions, loyal to the House of the Imperator, and that if Dawnhammer came with his group, he would receive orders as soon as a D'lanastion stepped forward. Dawnhammer wanted time to consider Bloodsworn's proposal, and so Bloodsworn left Dawnhammer to think, marching with his men to Goldenmist Village. Stage Three: Siege of Goldenmist Upon reaching Goldenmist Village, Bloodsworn's forces found nothing—not any sign of any base being placed there at all. Once the Sunfury had crossed the bridge into the village, the Sergeant and Captain cried out in victory and killed themselves—followed by the war cries of the Golden Sapphire. It had seemed Bloodheart had lured him into a trap, and the Sunfury had found themselves surrounded. The Golden Sapphire spent half an hour sending volleys of arrows into Goldenmist, paired with waves of pyroblasts, ice lances, and arcane missiles; though only few were injured, there wasn't much time to react or answer their attacks until the archers ran out of arrows and the mages needed to rest. Once the assault was over, warriors, paladins, and rogues ran into the village, meeting the full force of the Sunfury. Lor'tharian gathered four strike forces, and opened up a portal for them that led into Suncrown. They were to ride from Suncrown to Goldenmist and attack the Golden Sapphire from behind, hopefully forcing them into the village and through the choke point created by the bridge. Bloodheart thought of this, and had an anti-magic barrier cast around the village, so there would be no way of retreating. Two days were spent with the village under siege, Lor'tharian and his men never resting, even when the fighting ended. On the night of the second day, the Triumvir met with his Centurions, and laid out a plan: they were to break through Bloodheart's forces that night, while they slept. Every man would ride through their encampment, rangers casting flaming arrows and mages casting pyroblasts and meteors as possible. All priests and Blood Knights were to heal the rangers and mages—it was a flawless plan. However, it seemed Lor'tharian was not settled with simply breaking free, as his plan changed from an escape to an assault halfway through the meeting. He was to send his rogues in first, killing sentries and guards silently, while the cavalry rode in after the signal was given, sweeping from the west to the east of their camp, mages and warlocks moving in and setting the entire area aflame. If done smoothly, the war would be won that night. Plans are not so easily carried out—a sentry was alerted, and before the cavalry could move in, a thousand men were already on Hawkstriders and Thalassian Chargers, headed northwest to the coastline, looking to retreat to Newsun Isle. Stage Four: Argentavius' Retreat From Goldenmist to the northeastern coast of Quel'thalas, the Sunfury chased the Golden Sapphire. It was only until they'd reached the coast that they saw the ships that lay in wait—their armaments aimed right at the Sunfury. Bloodsworn called his men to retreat; if Bloodheart wanted to escape, he'd let him—he would not lose men over an outmatched battle, superior in numbers or not. Once Bloodheart's forces had left, Bloodsworn pursued him to Newsun Isle, his remaining four-thousand soldiers divided into twenty ships. It was time to end this war; and this time, Lor'tharian had the upper hand. Stage Five: The Desecration of Newsun Isle The ships were the first to be destroyed; and for three days, the Isle was put under siege. It was given an anti-magic barrier—just as Bloodheart ensured no way of retreat via magic, Bloodsworn returned the favor. Ports were destroyed, settlements upon the Isle devastated, land charred black. Three days of nothing but destruction and suffering. On the dawn of the fourth day, the white flag was flown—Bloodheart surrendered. Lor'tharian and a hundred men rode in to speak with Lord Argentavius, but upon meeting him, they found themselves in yet another trap. The Triumvir's forces were surrounded by the remaining thousand Golden Sapphire, and it appeared Bloodheart had won. One of the rangers set off a flare, calling for the rest of the Sunfury to attack, but by the time they reached Lor'tharian, it may be too late to save the Triumvir. Two minutes, that's all that needed to be bought. Two minutes, and that thousand soldiers would be surrounded and slaughtered by four thousand Sunfury. Stage Six: Bloodheart's Last Stand Two minutes were bought—that hundred dwindled down to twenty in that time, the Archmage putting himself in a desperate situation with his magic usage, casting every spell he could utter and trying to keep himself as protected as he could until his men rode in and saved the day. Once the battle was won, Bloodsworn could not find the Knight-Commander's body among the corpses; he had fled to the Bloodheart Estate, a fortress that would become known as Bloodheart's Last Stand. Along the way, the Sunfury set fire to the city, to the market, to the farms—destroying everything they passed by on their march for the Estate. “Bloodheart will be shown no mercy for his treachery,” ''Lor'tharian was recorded saying, ''“and we will show him no quarter; burn everything, kill everyone, but leave Argentavius for me.” The Estate did not live up to the title of a fortress—and it seemed not to be as well guarded as Bloodsworn was led to believe. No guards were present, no soldiers, nothing. Upon arriving at the doorstep of Bloodheart Manor, it was only Argentavius who stood there, sword drawn. He called for Lor'tharian alone, to fight him one on one, as a man. “Rogues, keep him sapped.” Once the Knight-Commander was incapacitated, Lor'tharian strode up the steps to him and looked into his eyes. He was said to have spoken words to him, but no one heard it other than Bloodheart. After his words were said, he slit the throat of Lord Bloodheart before turning to his men and giving them the order to burn the Estate to the ground and return home—they'd won the war. On January 26, 6,886 A.F, Lord Lor'tharian Bloodsworn claimed victory over the Bloodheart Dynasty, and returned home with three thousand five hundred and three men, holding a mass funeral for the fallen comrades the following day. Two thousand men received promotions, and seven hundred received commendations. Two thousand five hundred and seventy-six Sunfury were slain in the One-Week War, nine hundred and twenty-three were too injured to continue service, and six hundred and forty-five men were injured, though able to continue service after recovery. “The Bloodheart Dynasty is no more—and so ends the legacy of Newsun Isle. It began with House Solaminus, and it's voyage to Newsun Isle five thousand years ago, and ended with the Bloodheart Dynasty on January 26, 6,886. '' ''“It was by foul-play that led to Lord Argentavius Bloodheart's demise, raising the flag of surrender only to lead us into a trap—a coward's tactic. Let it be known that this Dynasty was comprised of heretics to our order, to our wellbeing, and I, Lor'tharian Septimus Vesallius Lucius Bloodsworn, will not stand for any person or entity that threatens our safety. The Sunfury stands to serve our people, and our glorious nation. For the Sin'dorei! For Quel'thalas!”